This was written in response to the November ERFFCC challange, namely to write a fic using characters you wouldn't normally write about. Since i've never written a Jeanie fic before, I thought I'd start with her.
Jeanie was humming quietly as she made herself comfortable in the rocking chair. Carlos was teething and had kept her awake half the night. Poor kid, she thought. He seemed to fight every tooth that came through. "Won't be long now Carlos," she said softly. "Soon the big bad tooth will be through and you'll feel a lot better."
Carlos's reply was an inarticulate gurgle. Jeanie smiled at him. Even after a year, she could sometimes hardly believe how lucky she was to have him. After discovering that she was HIV positive, she had resigned herself to remaining childless. But then to have been given the gift of this beautiful child; it seemed like a miracle. She couldn't have loved him any more if he had been her own flesh and blood.
The past year had been one of the happiest of her life.
Rocking back and forth in the chair, Jeanie began to sing softly, hoping that Carlos would sleep.
"Hush little baby, don't say a word. Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird."
Well, it hadn't exactly been a mockingbird, but a few months ago they had been shopping for baby clothes when Reggie had spotted a 'gadget shop'. Dragging Jeanie and Carlos inside for a look, he had found a model of a parrot.
"Look at this Jeanie," said Reggie, holding the parrot up to her. "Isn't it cute? I bet Carlos would love it in his room."
"I think he's a bit young for a toy like that," said Jeanie, privately thinking that it was one of the most garish and hideous things she'd seen.
"Oh, c'mon," said Reggie, smiling. "Say hello, Jeanie. Go on."
Sighing with mock impatience, Jeanie said, 'Hello Jeanie' to the parrot. To her surprise, the parrot flapped its wings and squawked, "Hello Jeanie, hello Jeanie." Reggie burst out laughing at the look of shock on her face.
"You have a very silly Daddy, Carlos," Jeanie had said, between fits of laughter.
"Yeah, but your Mommy loves him," said Reggie.
They had ended up buying the parrot and using him to surprise Kerry the next time she came to visit.
"If that mockingbird don't sing, Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring."
Well Reggie had already bought her a diamond ring. It was small; no large carat stones for a policeman's wife. But it was the giver and not the gift that had mattered. She would have married Reggie even if he had given her a curtain ring. He had promised her that one day he'd buy her a diamond the size of an egg. She had kissed him softly and said that all she wanted was him and Carlos.
"If that diamond ring turns to glass, Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass."
They had plenty of mirrors in the house, not that Jeanie spent much time looking into them. She knew that she had a lot more gray hairs than she'd had a year ago. Carlos, and worries over his health had caused many of them. Last winter, he had seemed to come down with one cold after another. Jeanie had spent half her time in doctor's surgeries and the other half pacing the floor at night trying to coax him back to sleep. But Carlos had come through every thing that life had thrown at him and today the worst thing to bother him was a tooth that wouldn't come through.
Some of the other gray hairs came from Reggie's job. She knew that being a cop was all Reggie had ever wanted to be, and she knew that he was good at his job. But still, every time he was late coming home, she worried that this would be the one day that he wouldn't come home. Sighing, she knew that this was the price she paid for loving him. "Ain't nothing in this world comes without a price, Jeanie." She could hear her grandmother's voice saying those words. "Anything that doesn't have a price isn't worth having. You remember that when you're all grown up."
Well if a few gray hairs were the price she had to pay for Reggie and Carlos, then they were definitely worth it, thought Jeanie.
And of course it wasn't all bad news in the mirror. There were a lot of laughter lines there that hadn't been there a year ago. Life with Reggie and Carlos might be stressful and worrisome, but it was also very very happy.
"And if that looking glass gets broke, Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat."
They had taken Carlos to a petting zoo for his birthday. He had been fascinated by all the animals, but had been particularly taken by the goats and kids. Reggie had instructed Jeanie to hold Carlos so he was sitting on the back of one of the bigger goats.
"Hold him there, Jeanie," said Reggie as he wound on the film, "Just one more."
"Um, Reggie," said Jeanie.
"Just a minute, I'm nearly there."
"No really, Reggie, there's something you should know."
"Big smiles everyone. C'mon Carlos, smile for Daddy."
Jeanie had smiled, but not for the camera. The reason she was smiling was that while Reggie had been fiddling with the camera, a billy goat had snuck up behind him and was busy nibbling unnoticed on Reggie's jacket. It was only a pity that Jeannie didn't have the camera when Reggie realized what had happened. That would have been one picture worth a thousand words.
"And if that billy goat runs away, Papa's gonna buy you another day."
Not the exact words, but somehow they were appropriate. On their last visit to the specialist, Jeanie had been told that with the proper care and attention, both she and Carlos stood a good chance of seeing his twenty-first birthday. For almost the first time since she had been diagnosed, Jeanie was now able to think of a future beyond the next few years. Of course she could easily be run over by a bus on her way to the shops, but that was a pessimistic view to take.
Pricking up her ears, she heard the front door open. "Looks like Daddy's home," she whispered to Carlos who was busy chewing on his toes.
Reggie came up behind the chair and leaned over to kiss Jeanie. "Miss me?" he said.
"Every minute," replied Jeannie.
"Wanna sit in the window and watch the sunset? It's gonna be a beauty."
"I'd watch paint dry, if I was sitting next to you," said Jeannie as they made their way to the window.
Sitting down, Reggie put his arms around his wife and son as they watched the sun go down on another beautiful day. The best part was knowing that tomorrow would be another day and another sunset.